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In 1808, Mills and other Williams students formed "The
Brethren," a society organized to "effect, in the persons of
its members, a mission to the heathen." Upon the enrollment
of Mills and Richards at Andover Seminary in 1810, Adoniram
Judson from Brown, Samuel Newall from Harvard, and Samuel
Nott from Union College joined the Brethren. Led by the
enthusiasm of Judson, the young seminarians convinced the
General Association of Congregational Ministers of
Massachusetts to form The American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions in 1810. In February, 1812, Rev. and
Mrs. Judson, Rev. and Mrs. Newall, Rev. and Mrs. Nott, Rev.
Gordon Hall, and Rev. Luther Rice were commissioned as the
Board's first missionaries and set sail for Calcutta,
India.
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The first five missionaries sponsored by the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions were ordained on
February 8, 1812, in the Tabernacle Church, in Salem,
Massachusetts. Among their number were Williams alumni
Gordan Hall (1808) and Luther Rice (1810), who sailed
shortly thereafter for Calcautta, India.
Photo used with permission of The Peabody
Essex Museum, Salem, MA.
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